Wrecking bar



P. TOWNIL L WRECKING BAR Jan. 10, 1950 -Filed Oct. 10, 1946 f ZNInventor p952) '7'0wn/a'ZL attorney Patented Jan. 10, 1950 WRECKING BARPeter Townill, Plainfield, 111.; John Townill administrator of saidPeter Townill, deceased Application October 10, 1946, Serial No. 702,4652 Claims. (Cl. 254131) The invention relates to wrecking bars,particularly adapted for ripping flooring, and has for its object toprovide a device of this kind comprising a U-shaped frame adapted toarch and seat on a rafter with its arms beneath a floor board, and apivoted lever pivoted to the arms, adjacent their forward ends, andhaving stops for engaging the upper sides of the arms for rocking theU-shaped frame upwardly on the transverse portion of the frame, restingon the upper side of the rafter.

A further object is to pivot the spaced hooked arms of the lever to theframe arms, and to provide the spaced arms with outwardly extending lugsor stops, adapted to engage the upper sides of the frame arms during aprying operation. The hooked arms allow the frame arms to be placed asubstantial distance under the floor boards when desired.

With the above and other objects in view the invention resides in thecombination and arrangement of parts as hereinafter set forth, shown inthe drawing, described and claimed, it being understood that changes inthe precise embodiment of the invention may be made within the scope ofwhat is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the wrecking bar, showing the same inposition, straddling a rafter.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the lower end of the wrecking bar.

Figure 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through the lowerportion of the wrecking bar.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral I designates a fioor rafter, and 2transverse boards to be ripped therefrom during a wrecking operation.

The wrecking bar comprises a U-shaped member 3 formed from spaced arms4, adapted to be placed under the boards 2, and at opposite sides of therafter I. Arms 4 are connected together by a transverse member 5, whichrests on the upper side of the rafter I, and forms the fulcrum pointduring a prying operation. By positioning the arms 4 on opposite sidesof the rafter l, side displacement is prevented, and at the same timethe bar can be moved forwardly towards the work for successive pryingoperation.

Pivotally connected at 6 to the inner sides of the arms 4 are downwardlyand upwardly extending U-shaped members I, which U-shaped membersterminate in upwardly extended spaced arms 8, connected to the handlemember or lever 9 of the device. When the lever 9 is moved in thedirection of the arrow a, the outwardly extending lugs It] will engagethe upper sides of the arms 4, and a continued movement will rock theframe 3 on the cross member 5, thereby forcing the forward ends of thearms 4 upwardly, for prying the boards 2 from the rafter. It will alsobe noted that successive operations can be accomplished by simplyforcing the frame forwardly on the rafter and moving the lever.

From the above it will be seen that a wrecking bar is provided which issimple in construction, positive in operation, and one which straddlesthe rafter and held against lateral displacement or tilting during aprying operation.

The invention having been set forth what is claimed as new and usefulis:

1. A wrecking bar comprising a rafter supported member, said membercomprising spaced bars adapted to be positioned on opposite sides of arafter in spaced relation thereto, the rear end of said bars beingconnected together by a transverse member adapted to arch the rafter,the forward ends of said bars being adapted to engage under a floorboard on the rafter at opposite sides of the rafter, a lever, said leverhaving its lower end bifurcated thereby forming spaced arms betweenwhich the rafter is received, said lever curving downwardly, forwardlyand upwardly and hingedly connected to the spaced bars adjacent theirforward ends, said arms of the bifurcated lever being provided withstops means for engagement with the spaced bars and forming meanswhereby the forward ends of the spaced bars will be forced upwardlyagainst the floor board upon a rearward and downward movement of thehandle.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the stop means carried bythe spaced arms of the bifurcated end of the lever comprises outwardlyextending lugs carried by the outer side of the arms and in the path ofthe upper sides of the spaced bars.

PETER TOWNILL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 494,417 Cutting Mar. 28, 1893625,654 Dorman May 23, 1899 1,056,078 Witzig et al. Mar. 18, 1913

